Helping The Cuban People.

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I think it's a good idea because the people are oppressed and denied in Cuba over petty politics. They are the ones who lose out.
Signs change is on the way are occurring as Cuba braces for such matters as sharing finances with the free world, universal internet access and the return of commercial flights. The bonds between Cuba and the free world have been frozen for some time and are now thawing. Do you think Cuba will become a thriving capitalistic society in ten years, vastly different than its recent past?
What do you think the future holds for this island?

I think it's strange Cuba has been singled out pretty much with the embargo against them, compared to countries that are arguably treating their citizens in a similar way or much worse (China, Saudi Arabia).
Being able to trade with the huge US economy next door would probably help them a lot. Tourism from the US could bring in moar monies. They could sell their old timer cars for even moar monies and buy new cars.

Other countries didn't have the US in a stranglehold the way Cuba did. It all goes back to The Bay Of Pigs and all that. US was very angry at a country so close snuggling up to the Soviet Union.
The situation in Cuba is odd because at one time, before the revolution, Cuba was kinda thriving when you consider its location and how impoverished many of those countries are. Guess it wasn't enough.

I went to Cuba many times in the '90s and once in 2000. I was living in Jamaica and I had to leave the island every six months to get a visa extension. Cuba is only 100 miles from Cuba. There are so many great things about Cuba that may disappear quickly once American tourists start to really come. Cuba is very clean. They haven't had all these plastic crap that have saturated our culture... and the oceans. Their island, and the seas around Cuba aren't polluted. Their coral reefs are still in good shape. Cubans are gentle and educated. Cubans sit in parks reading... they line up to take buses, people hold hands, it's not noisy. I once bought a box of Romeo and Julieta cigars from bootleggers, who either smuggle them out a couple a day, or roll them at home... but I ended up in this little apartment two stories up with half a dozen young men... this is something I would never do in Jamaica, because for sure you would be robbed. I usually went to Santiago because it was so close, and I soon loved this getaway. The airport was on a hill right outside of town (or so it seemed), and in ten minutes you were downtown in the city square. Once I hired a taxi just to drive me around for a few hours... many roads are still dirt, people are poor, but they aren't starving. In Jamaica you see many people missing an arm or a leg, or their teeth... but not so in Cuba. They have good doctors and dentists. They don't have many choices in the stores, and Cubans can't get on an airplane and leave.

So cool you can tell us about Cuba from first hand experience.

I've been there yes... quite a few times. If you, or any readers can go... you should do it ASAP.

As much as I'm behind this, I'm sure Cubans are exceptionally capable of helping themselves. The country already has its' own Linux distribution! Buena Vista Social Club is in my top ten movies without question. Cuba has all it truly needs, I'm almost apprehensive about what it stands to lose to globalization.

They are, but they are not free to do so in ways that lead to prosperity. Cuba is still a corrupt communist dictatorship.

From the standpoint of living in a corrupt capitalist oligarchy I don't really feel I've any place criticizing communism. All I'm saying is that a greater volume of questionable stuff goes on outside of such nations, they're kind of a scapegoat minority in geopolitical terms. Fidel & Raul are worlds better than Fulgencio Battista & whomever might have succeeded him.

I lived in Jamaica in the 90s too, and went to Cuba.

I think things were improving have improved. It is true that the US on the whole may have a wrong impression of the general situation.

The irony is they love American culture.

There are still serious issues though, about personal freedoms. However the embargo was completely the wrong approach.

Actually my father was friendly his opposite number in Angola, who had retired by then. He arranged to meet up when we went to cuba. This obviously had to get official permission. We when to the government restaurant. It was kind of like old times.

When this guy was in Angola, he didn't get leave for 10-15 years. He was very hard worker, dedicated to the cause. My father wasn't about trying to convert, just diplomatic, and also cultural interests.

There were candid an jovial. The food was pretty bad though. We had better food in the small licensed restaurants that were just starting. Back then you had to ring in advance, they were allowed 10 people at a time. She did ask if we wanted pork, becuase she was going to get it on the sly.

People do come up to you in in the street put your arm round you, try yo be your friend, obviously for some gain. But it is not way near as bad as some of the hawking in other counties.

When we went to the coast, the tourist industry was restricted to party members, and a privilege. Which cause resentment with locals. I remember some costa rican family, saying a woman who offered to braid their child's hair in town, said she earned more money doing that then being a GP, which was her profession.

My father grew up in cuba as a child, before the revolution.

The funny thing is no one would go to Kingston for their holiday, but there plenty people want to go to Havana. I heard one guy recent he said he was going to Jamaica but only staying in Kingston (and just in the hotel) I was kind of taken a back. I was like WTF, is he really going for a holiday, becuase my dad visited so of the British mules in prison there, and they were s**t scared.

Sounds like a theoretical autistic state to be honest.

Regardless, I'm on board to saying the embargo is complete bull, and I always thought it was 100% bull. To completely understand Cuba though one must take a deeper look into history past World War II. Traditionally since the Spanish American War Cuba has been a very important part of the United States, even if it isn't part of the U.S. It's a major trade stronghold, so not only did we do(and now will do) a lot of business there, but it served as a place for the United States to keep a stable route to Europe and the rest of the Old World. A Cuba under other hands would be disaster to the United States.

And that's what happened after Batista was overthrown. No longer did we have that key part of our economy, so part of the reason we embargoed Cuba was as a punishment for not bowing down to us. We really wanted the Cubans to "come around". It's impressive how strong the Cubans lasted. Now though, the U.S. has realized that the embargo has been a complete failure, and will just have to settle with what it can. Inevitably Cuba will have some kind of free market like Vietnam (I would say China since China was never really communist, at least not since the end of the Cultural Revolution; the Chinese sort of just do the Chinese way of doing things, as they always have).

I understand. Big Brother is listening, and the capitalist oligarchs have developed flying FEMA coffins. You don't want to end up in Gitmo as a political prisoner, and all that jazz.

Homelessness, poverty, unemployment, sweat shops that provide cheap labour, street gangs, uncertainty as to whether their health system will remain as it is?
Capitalism can only thrive when part of the population is struggling it seems.

I envisioned it more like what it was before the revolution, kind of like Las Vegas in some ways. Maybe it will become like this?

At one time Cuba was this really cool place and if you were a cool kat you went to Cuba and partied. I hope it gets restored to how it was before. I can see it becoming the Las Vegas of the Caribbean, if the Cubans are up to it.

The Castros will still have a major stronghold over Cuba. It's a massive pipedream.

Hmm... Maybe on TV it was... but it was totally corrupt, violent, and under the thumb of dictators. The US actually supported Castro when he first came into power.